


chlorine

by suspendedreality



Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018) Actor RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Fluff and Angst, Joe plays baseball Fight Me On It, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, The boys are on a soccer team, sad sad times, this is gonna be a fun time spliced with some
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-04
Updated: 2019-03-02
Packaged: 2019-10-22 03:34:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17655263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suspendedreality/pseuds/suspendedreality
Summary: Joe’s boyfriend made Rami nervous. Not like theI’ve got butterflies in my stomach, I think I’m in lovekind of nervous, either.He made Rami’s blood curdle. It was something in the line of his shoulders, in his tone of voice. Maybe it was something stuck behind his eyes, dark and grainy. It made Rami’s skin itch with every sordid look he cast Joe.Rather:Things aren’t as simple as they ought to be, and sometimes when you’re between a rock and a hard place, a friend will be there to hoist you out.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hi everyone!! this is my first rpf, so like, bear with me? this is gonna be a journey and a half, my guys, so let's just pray we get through it
> 
>  i originally posted this under anonymous but rlly? i dont give a fuck so here we are. dont like dont read, sweetheart <33

Richard O’Malley made Rami nervous. No, not like feel-it-in-your-stomach, I’ve-got-butterflies-and-I’m-in-love type nervousness, no.

Rich made Rami’s blood curdle. It was just… his stupid fucking grin, it was in the line of his shoulders and the tone of his voice. He held the same energy as a fucking shark. Maybe it was in the look behind his eyes, dark and grainy.

Rami rolled his nearly-empty drink between his palms and puffed out a breath of air, watching as Rich wound his arm around his boyfriend next to him, pulling him closer. Joe, Rich’s boyfriend, melted easily into his side, leaving behind his plate at the table to settle against Rich. Rich grinned, going back to his conversation with his friends around the table.

Joe sucked on his lower lip for a moment and looked around the group of boys before pulling out his phone, dropping his head.

One of the boys made a joke, his hands waving wildly. Rich laughed, jarring his boyfriend, who jerked his head up to try and assess what he’d missed.

A kick to Rami’s ankle brought him back to his own table. He blinked rapidly, looking across to Gwil, who was already staring straight at him. “Stare any harder and something’s going to catch fire,” he advised, a glint of mischief in his eyes.

Rami rolled his eyes and sucked on his straw. “I wasn’t staring.”

Farther own the table, Ben Hardy scoffed. “Yeah you fuckin’ were, mate,” he exclaimed through a mouthful of pizza. “Can’t tell if you were ogling or flinging daggers half the time.”

“Shut up.” Rami dipped his fingers in his cup and flicked them towards Ben. He ignored the indignant grumbles from his friend, and sucked the sticky soda residue from his fingers. “I was just thinking about our next match.”

“Yeah, right, and Ben regularly dresses in pencil skirts and pretty blonde wigs,” Gwil scoffed.

Ben laughed and threw a pepperoni towards him. “Don’t you know that’s what I spend my Saturdays doing?” Gwil threw a bit of a tomato at him, and Rami let out a soft, breath of relief. The focus wasn’t on him any longer, and they likely wouldn’t land back on him again if he just kept himself engaged with them and kept his eyes off of the table of their teammates some fifteen feet away.

The team was split into a few spots in the pizza parlor — mostly because the tables at this little pizza place never fit all of them in once place, and they never learned. A good two-thirds were on the long table in the back, while the remaining few were situated in a booth not too far away. It was common for seat swapping and travelling between tables when looking for your preferred pizza, or your favorite conversation partner.

At the moment, there were five of them crammed into the circular booth. Rami, Gwil, Ben, and two others crammed together in the middle, looking over something on one of their phones.

Rami tried to pay attention to what Gwil and Ben were talking about now, but it was rather difficult. His seat gave him a direct line of sight to Rich, and by extension, Joe.

He watched as Joe shrugged Rich’s arm off his shoulders and leaned back up for his plate. Joe dumped the scraps onto his boyfriend’s plate and said a few words to him before he stood up. He kissed Rich twice before managing his way out of the tangle of chairs around the table.

Rami whipped his head back to his table and put way too much concentration into his plate as he realized where Joe was headed.

Ben hummed, apparently having figured it out as well. He looked slyly at Rami, a smirk pulling at his mouth. “Watch the daggers, Rami, guess who’s coming over.” Rami made a face at him right before Joe stopped by their table.

“Hey boys,” he greeted easily, calling the attention of the table. “Heard you have the pineapple.”

“Hell yeah,” one of the others at the table, Jackson grinned at him. “It’s quarantined at this table, because the rest of them are fuckin’ snobs.” He laughed and began an awkward little scoot out of the booth. “And if you’re gonna eat here, I’m gonna take a few at the other table. Goddamn Sebastian still has my cap.”

Joe grimaced, n doubt remembering the playful scuffle that unfolded on the pitch a few hours earlier. “I think he passed it off to Cam.” Jackson froze for a second, and then hurried the rest of the way out of the booth, cussing a blue streak as his friend followed close behind. Joe watched them take off toward the table and the chaos that would no-doubt start up soon. “Fucking Christ,” he muttered fondly with a little smile. When he came back to himself, he slipped in the booth next to Rami. “It’s alright if I join you guys, right?”

Rami’s mouth dropped open, as if he was intending to speak, but as he glanced over to Joe, he spotted a hickey peeking out of his collar, and his mouth clicked shut. Like his brain turned drippy and his tongue tied up in knots at the sheer sight of the blemish on Joe’s throat.

Gwil kicked him under the table, and took up the task of giving the boy an answer. "Of course it is," he tutted, moving the pizza pan closer to Joe to allow him to grab a slice.

Joe grinned at him and snagged a slice. "So what's up over here?” he asked. “Gossiping like a quilting bee while the others can't hear you, or something?"

Rami scooted over just a little under the guise of reaching for another slice of pizza. "Something like that," he granted with a shaky laugh. "You've caught us."

"Eh," Joe muttered with his mouth full, shrugging easily. "Your secret's safe with me. I can appreciate a good quilting bee — as long as you're not all talking about me." Ben and Gwil laughed at the joke, Rami following perhaps a second slower. "I didn't get to tell you earlier, Hardy, but you were amazing today. That was fucking nuts, how you fucking, just—" He gestured with his hands, clapping them together at the end. "I was amazed."

Ben was glowing, elated with the praise. "Well! Thank you very,  _ very much _ ," he exclaimed brightly. He cast a significant look to Gwil. " _ Some _ of the boys called it blind luck."

"Taking the piss, Ben." Gwil waved his hand, dismissing him rightly with a soft scoff. He turned to take hold of Ben's chin, looking into his eyes. "You did wonderfully,” he teased. “Is that enough?"

Ben just rolled his eyes and pulled his face away. "Yeah, whatever."

Rami leaned back, peeking under the table. Their ankles were hooked together.

He thought it cute, their gentle public affection. Still under wraps, as Gwil had yet to come out, and both were content to take it slow, to keep everything between just them and their close friends. He settled back into his seat and took a drink of his cola.

When Rami looked at Joe again, and found the other looking at him from the corner of his eye. Realizing he'd been caught, Joe didn't pull away or fake out, just turned to look at Rami better, a smile pulling at his mouth.

"Do you ever play?" The words tumbled out of Rami's mouth before he could catch them, hanging the question out like a child presenting pebbles to their mother. "Soccer. Like, you know, kicking a ball around a field, or something?"

Joe laughed and took a bite of his pizza. He shook his head. "No, I never really cared for it. I mean, sure, I go to the games, but that's mostly because Rich wants me there." He leaned back and threw an arm over the back of the booth. He took up space effortlessly. Loud and confident, his smile was easy and genuine. He wasn’t humoring conversation with them just because they were his boyfriend’s teammates, and Rami respected that kind of sincerity. "I'm more of a baseball fan, really."

"So, you play that, then?" Ben butted in.

"Not really anymore, but it's fun to play between friends." He smiled gracefully. Rami thought he was adorable. Fucking captivating, even.

He was this goddamn close to saying so, too. He could feel it bubbling up in his throat — but instead he looked over to Ben, a slight panic in his eyes. Ben caught the look and raised a confused eyebrow.

He was trying to figure out how to telepathically communicate his problem to Ben, how his stomach was twisting into knots (the good kind), but it turned out that he didn’t have to.

When he looked back to Joe, he was looking back over to the rest of the team. Richard was twisted around in his chair, looking towards Joe. He nodded, mouthing something Rami couldn't quite see before he stood up, taking his plate with him. "I've gotta skip back. I'll see you guys later."

"See you," Ben said, waving. Gwil parroted him.

Rami gave a small smile. "Bye, Joe," he called out as the ginger was reeled back to his boyfriend. Ben looked at Rami with a lifted eyebrow, looking thoroughly nonplussed.

"I think it's possible to both ogle and fling daggers at once," Gwil mused, rubbing his palm along the line of his jaw. “Rami’s certainly accomplished it, anyroad.”

“I swear to God,” Rami grumbled, scrubbing his face with his hands.

“No, no,” Ben cut in. “Makes sense. Jealousy and all. Really, Rami, I just didn’t think you the  _ type _ —”

“Oh, shut up. I’m not jealous,” he insisted. He sucked down the rest of his drink until the sound became obnoxious among the ice chips.

“Yeah, you’ve just caught eyes for the boyfriend of our star striker,” Gwil summarized. He pulled a face, folding his hands together and propping his elbows up on the table. “Be careful with this one, Rami.”

“There’s nothing to be careful with.” Rami glanced back towards the larger table, eyes instantly finding the back of Joe’s head, which just so happened to be leaned into Rich’s shoulder. Rami cleared his throat and looked back to the boys.

They didn’t believe a fucking word he said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay!!! Please comment, validation makes me write so much faster. Like give my fingers a fuckin 5 hour energy and a Will To Be Productive
> 
> Most of this story ought to be in Rami's POV, but I'm not wholly decided, yet lmao. is a different point of view smthn yall would be interested in? go ahead and tell me!!
> 
> [here's my tumblr](https://josephmalek.tumblr.com/)! come talk to me and bat hcs around w me!!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dont ask me how this got to be over 5k, your guess is as good as mine smdh
> 
> alssoooo before i forget (cause im legit half asleep rn) I did some reworking. turns out that of the boys: only ben and gwil are on the soccer (football???) team. i was watching some interviews and it jst sparked a v different plan in my head for rami tbqh
> 
> bruh it's 4:11 am and i think i've forgotten what my name is im sorry if i missed anything while editing through ill try to fucking,,,,, read over it more tomorrow. pls forgive me. peace emoji

It wasn't too much longer until Jackson slipped back to their table. He wore a shit-eating grin, and his eyes danced with excitement.

"So," he started off.  He leaned in, his hand braced on the back of the booth behind Rami so that he was snug against Rami's shoulder. Rami dragged his fingertips through a small pile of Parmesan cheese left on the table top, thinking that he would bet good goddamn money that he knew what was coming next.There was a twitch in his smile that told him exactly what Jackson was about to propose.  "Artie's clearing at eight tonight. Give everyone time to get ready and to gather a few more people up and at'em." Yep, there is was.

Ben brightened up, his spine straightening. He loved trips to Artie's clearing, it was a secluded sort section of land about forty-five minutes out from the city, usually used for parties and different hang-outs. The team loved to string different people together after games and go dance underneath the stars, taking their victories with a large helping of teenage love-for-life.

Ben had an affinity for always being down for down for whatever came his way. And it was in this way that Gwilym, too, was dragged along to such parties. Sometimes, Rami joined them.

He had an inkling that he'd be pulled right along with them, tonight.

"Need to bring anything?" Ben asked, leaning forward a little in eagerness.

Jackson shook his head. "Not unless you wanna bring food. Bottled water, if you want, I dunno." He shrugged a shoulder, caring little for this bit.

"We'll be there," Ben assured him.

"Thought you would be." Jackson smirked, his eyebrows jumping up. He reached over and clap Rami on the back of the neck, grinning at him. "You coming, Malek?"

Rami took a second before he nodded. "If I can bring Lucy," he reasoned, gesturing absently with his hand.

"Wouldn't have it any goddamn other way. Now scoot back, I want in."

-

Lucy was, quite predictably, in. It didn't take much to get to get her parent's permission to hang out with the gang, to stay at Rami's later that night.

Sooner than later, Rami was leaning against the doorpost of Lucy’s bedroom, facing the hallway as he listened to her throwing things out of her closet. The clothing seldom hit her bed, which was the intended target, rather falling short to the woven rug below.

Normally, Rami would be in the room, scooping them up as they came — but as it currently was, Lucy was wrapped in nothing but a towel, and he was respecting her privacy. He hung back, giving her space enough to get dressed, but also keeping within earshot to keep up their conversation.

"We really ought to start baking before these events.” He glanced over his shoulder just in time to see a blouse hit the floor, just another piece to join the carnage.

"I assume you don't mean marijuana," Rami replied dryly, turning his head as he lowered his voice around the last word, as if someone in the house would hear. He turned back around as Lucy scoffed.

"No," she tutted, "see, there will be people already hashed off their heads. And then they start getting peckish."

"Which usually means that the party is over, and it's time to hit iHop," Rami cut in.

"Exactly." He heard her come out of her closet and begin getting dressed. There was a snap of elastic and a rustle of fabric before she murmured  _ absolutely not _ . "But if, say, we begin to supply baked goodies -- things like brownies, or muffins -- then the party can go on just a little bit longer, and the party-goers can enjoy quality fresh-baked goods for only a low,  _ low _ price of three dollars per item."

Rami grinned and looked over his shoulder at her as she pulled a dress over her head and smoothed it down over her thighs. She smiled at him. "What do you think?"

"Devious," he granted with a nod. "A little evil. Three dollars a pop?"

"I meant the dress, thank you," she informed him, rolling her eyes. "And yes, I think it's plenty reasonable."

"If you say so," he granted, a cracking a grin. "The dress is gorgeous."

She did a twist for him, letting the skirt flutter out in a twirl. "Thank you, Rami," she hummed. "I think we'll forgo the heels tonight, yes?"

"For the best," he agreed, "don't want another twisted ankle."

She grimaced at the memory — what happened  _ last time _ they'd been out to one of these parties — and unwound her hair from atop her head, letting it fall over her shoulders. "No, I don't think so."

Rami came in the room to take a seat on her bed and watch as Lucy fixed her hair in the vanity. He bent to scoop up the clothes and pull them onto the bed. He folded them up one by one as Lucy went to scavenge for a pair of shoes among the rubble.

Once he was finished, he checked the time on his phone. "We better get going, Luce."

She emerged from the closet shortly thereafter, with a jacket crooked over her arm. They said goodbye to Lucy's parents and were very soon pulling out of the Boynton's driveway.

"It's your turn to be responsible, yes?" Lucy asked, shooting a glance to Rami from the passenger seat where she was scrolling through her music library.

Rami made a little face, but nodded in turn. "My turn to be DD. Just... do me a favor and don't try to hook up with anyone tonight. I don’t want to have to get into that."

She waved her hand blithely at the idea. "This is an outdoor venture," she pointed out, her nose crinkling in distaste.

"Doesn't stop Ben and Gwil."

“Chrissake!” she burst. Her nose scrunched up in distaste, though she fought to keep down a laugh.

-

It nearly took an hour, but Rami and Lucy pulled up to the clearing just after sunset, when all the pretty colors of the sky had gone, but the light was, for the moment, fair.

"Wonder where Ben and Gwil have gotten to," he murmured to Lucy, who was busy slipping no less than four hair ties onto his wrist.

"Something tells me they've found a nice tree," Lucy told him out of the corner of her mouth, tone as conspiratorial as the squint in her eyes.

Rami rolled his eyes and looked around the clearing. They were surrounded by trees on most sides, save the way back to the road, and a few bald spots where the ground bled into walking trails. There were a few cars lined up around the entrance, but the ratio of teens to cars was blessedly uneven. Nobody wanted to play the DD, but it was a necessity — especially when they were all this far out of the city, with many back-roads lying between them and home. Fewer cars meant more people riding with their sober counterparts.

There was a small crowd grouped near the center of the clearing, stuffing twigs and dry leaves into a circle of stones. A can of lighter fluid was at their feet, and Rami knew that there was most certainly at least a half-dozen lighters among the eight of them.

There was a decent sized crowd, all in all, but it was small enough so that anyone well-versed in their social circles would pretty much know — if not know  _ of _ — everyone present.

That didn't exclude the rest of the soccer team. Rami felt like something of a broken record, blowing out a sigh as he took in O'Malley across the way. He had a cigarette held in the same hand that clutched the top of his cup. Rami flicked his eyes away, and back to Lucy.

She seemed to have caught what he was looking at, because she was looking in Rich's direction as well, a little downward twist to her lips. After a second, she shook her head minutely and looked back up to Rami. "I'm going to get a drink," she told him before slipping away.

He watched her make a bee line to an SUV parked about fifty feet away. The hatchback was open, and there was an arrangement of solo cups and half-empty bottles of syrups littering the cargo space. The ice chest of liquor was on the ground just behind it all.

Rami had seen worse makeshift bars in his day, honestly. Though, not by much, granted, but the sentiment was there, all the same.

Sighing to himself, and perhaps casting a longing look towards Lucy and the drinks, he set off, promising himself that he'd mingle.

He did, for a time. Lucy caught up to him as he was in the middle of a conversation with one of the boy's teammates, a nice boy named Allen.

Lucy had a grin a mile wide as she handed Rami a bottle of water hooked her arm in with his. She had a solo cup in her opposite hand. Whatever was in it was rosy in color and smelled like goddamn paint-stripper. She joined the conversation, weaving herself in effortlessly.

By the time Rami had realized that someone had started blasting music from one of the car’s stereos, there were a few people dancing. The fire had been lit. It was big for now, blazing through the accelerants before the logs and larger sticks really began to burn.

Ben showed himself not too long after that. Rami spotted him as he walked up the path. Smoke was trailing behind him from the cigarette dangling from his mouth. Once he caught sight of Rami, he stamped out his cigarette and made his way over.

Lucy passed him her cup as soon as he joined the circle. He accepted the drink easily, but made a sour face as he swallowed it down "The fuck is in there?" he demanded. "Rubbing alcohol?"

"It's called a sipper," she told him, as-matter-of-fact. "You're not meant to gulp it down." Ben tossed her a strange look, and she just rolled her eyes at him. The others in the circle greeted Ben in their own right. "Where's Gwil?" Lucy asked him once a quiet moment had come again.

Ben glanced around the clearing, an absent noise coming from his throat. "Took a ride from Seb." He went on to explain the rest out of the corner of his mouth, "Didn't want to come in the same car. He hitched a ride with someone else, but I'm driving him home." His smile was sharp, like he was the cat who'd gotten the proverbial cream.

Maybe it wasn't so proverbial, actually.

Rami snorted and took a sip from his bottle. Lucy elbowed his side, but it had little effect.

Ben started up another cigarette, offered it to Rami and Lucy, both of which politely passed.

"Could'a just told me," Rami piped up. "I would have given him a ride, easy."

Ben shrugged a shoulder. "Teammates. You know how it is," he replied vaguely, and Rami let it drop, because he did know, to some extent.

"You and Gwil are getting less and less subtle," Rami commented quietly, drawing them back to their earlier topic. He threw Ben a glance from the corner of his eye. It wasn't a snide comment, just one birthed from curiosity. He knew that they were trying to keep in on the down-low, what with things like taking separate cars. Rami didn't know if it was the sheer fact that since he knew it was obvious to him, or if Ben and Gwil really just didn't hide it very well.

Maybe they were just getting tired of hiding it all.

Ben shuffled his feet and blew smoke out from side of his mouth. Rami watched it blow away into the darkening sky. "Nothing I wouldn't do for one of my teammates. 'Sides," He turned a little more towards Rami, lowering his volume, as if someone was to overhear over the blaring music and the wind in the trees, "if you're open enough about things, people always try to dumb down the obvious." Ben smiled, throwing him a wink. Rami rolled his eyes with a snort. "A most, they're going to think that I'm trying to climb him like a tree."

"Right. That's ‘cause you are."

" _ Yeaahhhh _ ," he drawled. "They just don't know that I'm succeeding. I’ve gotten very good at climbing that tree, thank you." Ben tossed an arm over his shoulders and pulled him away a bit. "If you'll excuse us," he burst, mostly to Lucy, but drawing the eyes of some of those around them. "My good friend Rami and I need to go and sniff out a drink." Lucy shot him a look that Rami supposed was supposed to be serious, but just came off bemused.

"He's driving tonight, Ben!" Lucy scolded as Rami was steered away. Ben 's reply was called boisterously over his shoulder, lost to the music, the conversation, and the warmth of Rami being pulled closer to Ben's side.

Rami ended up grabbing a can of soda while Ben mixed himself a small drink that filled maybe a quarter of his cup. He bumped his shoulder against Rami's, a mischievous look in his eyes.

"What?" Rami demanded, a frown pulling at his mouth. "What's with that look?"

"You're out of it." Ben simply shrugged a careless shoulder, his grin stretching wider. "Have you talked to Mazzello, yet?"

Rami made a face. "No, why would I — why would I do that?"

"You seem interested in him," Ben said like it was obvious.

Rami shushed him, looking over his shoulder just in case anyone had overheard. "He has a  _ boyfriend _ ," he pointed out, affronted.

Ben's nose wrinkled. "Well, I didn't say fuck him, I said 'talk to.' You're reading too far in, mate. I was just encouraging a budding friendship, seems like you two would get on." He gestured with his cup before taking a small sip. "Go say hi."

"We don't know each other like that," Rami argued. "We've got... fucking... chem lab together. I don't know him very well enough to just fucking pop up and start talking."

Ben nodded, a pensive purse to his lips. "Yeah, yeah, I get it," he trailed off.  _ Oh, goddammit, _ Rami thought, as Ben took another drink and looked around, coming back to him with a sideways glance. "Good thing I do, though." His eyebrows jumped, and he grinned as he led the way.

They were around the fire, a halo of campfire smoke and tobacco around their heads. There was only a few people around, and they welcomed the boys instantly, demanding they sit down. Rami found a place on the ground between Ben and a girl whose name he couldn't even begin to remember. She smiled at him — she was a pretty redhead with lipstick smeared just-so. She offered her half-smoked cigarette to him, and he accepted it gratefully.

"Sorry all my lipstick is on it," she hummed with a frown. The filter was painted red, but Rami didn't care much about it. He told her so and took a long drag.

A movement caught his eye from across Ben, and Rami looked over to see O'Malley leaning forwards, almost rocking up on his knees. "Look,  _ all that I am saying here, _ is that if a capital-fucking-S  _ Someone _ ," he pointed at one of the boys across the fire, a joint between his thumb and middle finger. "Would stop making eyes with their goddamn girlfriend, we'd have a stronger opening." He thumped back to the ground, a hand smoothing down his own thigh before it jumped across to land on Joe's. His thumb swiped back and forth, the rhythm almost hypnotizing.

The boy, scoffed at O’Malley and waved a hand. "Get off my dick, O'Malley, we did fucking  _ fine _ ," he exclaimed, stumbling to his feet. He inched around the fire to retrieve the blunt. "You, my dude," he paused to take a long drag. Smoke spilled from his mouth as he went on, "just gotta get better at adapting. Improvise. Adapt. Overcome." He made each point by jabbing his finger at O'Malley, a stern expression in place, but cracking at the edges.

Rami passed the cigarette back to the girl and settled back.

"Bl _ ow me _ ," O'Malley scoffed, rolling his eyes to the goddamn heavens.

Joe snorted next to him, scrubbing his nose with the back of his hand.  "Take him," he cheered through a laugh. "Take some goddamn pressure off me."

O’Malley gave a raucous laugh, bumping his shoulder into Joe's so they were both thrown off kilter. Rami couldn't hear what they said next from where he was sitting, but it looked fond, ending with a stolen kiss. The boy across the fire laughed along, but Rami thought there was a bizarre-sort of clench in his jaw.

Rami's eyes slid back to Ben, contemplating mentioning it, but Ben was looking down at his phone, a text conversation with his boyfriend opened. "The boys are here," he announced, looking up to the others in the circle, eyes sweeping along to see if he'd missed anything important while he was texting. He leaned back, looking beyond Rami, towards the road. "I'll be back, yeah?" He clapped Rami's shoulder and handed him his cup before hauling himself up to his feet.

He held the cup on his knee and settled back in. The girl on his left caught his attention and leaned over to him. "You look uncomfy as shit," she told him bluntly between puffs of her cigarette. Her mouth was screwed up, and Rami laughed awkwardly.

"Just got here," he told her, a bit of an excuse. Just arriving meant he hadn't had time to consume any alcohol. Sobriety meant tense shoulders and ice that had yet to be broken.

She nodded studiously, her hand coming to her chin like she was considering him, sizing him up. "I see, I see," she mumbled. She took one last drag of her smoke before twisting it into the dirt, flicking the butt into the fire. "You really only started lookin' screwy when your bud left," she noted, narrowing her eyes at him, making Rami feel like there should have been a heat lamp focused in on him like it was an interrogation.

"Yeah, he's my friend."  A lame explanation, and yet it seemed to do just the trick.

"Makes sense," she mused. "I don't really know lot's a people here either. I don't like these things, but my babe brought me along. They're—” she dropped her head between her shoulders and hummed, "mixing drinks by the water cooler, looks it." She picked her head up. "We usually just have a few cigs and then kick it home. Unless there's dancing. I goddamn love to dance."

"Why don't you dance now?" Rami asked, nodding to where others were laughing, dancing along with themselves and the beat of some new song.

She looked over him with an air Rami just couldn't quite identify. She nodded, whether it was to herself, or to him, no one knew. "You're like a whole wise pumpkin." She told him so in such a way, with such a goddamn confidence, that there was nothing Rami could do but try and keep his bewildered expression under-wraps and nod along with her.

She leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek with  _ way _ too much energy, and he was certain that he had red lipstick smearing up his cheek. "My name is Heidi," she told him, "and now you know  _ me _ ." She popped her lips, booped his nose, and just like that — she picked herself up and left. Rami was left to wonder just how much — or  _ what _ — she'd had so early in the night.

Rami was still looking after her when a low whistle came into his ears. He glanced back to see Joe fuckin' staring at him, mirth in his eyes. "Gettin' lucky?" he asked, tilting his head just so.

Rami laughed and took a drink from his soda. "No," he assured him, a prickling warmth coming up from the back of his collar. "Not tonight." He finished with a laugh and set his can in front of his knee again. He poured Ben’s drink out not too far away, as it didn’t look like he was coming back anytime soon.

O’Malley made some kind of sound on the back of his tongue -- kind of like he'd been swallowing sandpaper for kicks, and then tried to sing an opera. Just fucking goofy. "Rami's gay, babe." He flicked the wasted blunt into the fire, so nonchalantly. Rami could barely find the strength not to glare at him for the words coming out of his fucking mouth.

Joe's mouth formed into an O, and he nodded, smiling. "Fellow associate," he snickered, leaning over to offer a fistbump.

"Yeah, I'm bi, actually," he corrected a little stiffly. He watched Joe closely,hoping to catch any change in mannerisms, despite the flickering campfire light. To his surprise? They weren’t any. Rami bumped his knuckles to Joe's before taking a sip of coke. "Heidi also has someone, so, you know." He shrugged a shoulder.

O'Malley's mouth opened, poised for some sort of comeback, but he didn't get around to it, because his phone went off with a notification. The screen stole his full attention, and Joe scooted a tad closer to Rami.

"You've got lipstick all over your cheek," he informed him dutifully, gesturing to his own cheek in turn. "It makes it look like she was trying to eat you, but like, that's none of my business, you know?"

Rami laughed, twisting towards him a little. "Yeah? Once my friend was wearing this really dark lipstick, right? A plum, I think. She kissed the top of my cheek, and the print wouldn't really go away, just smudged everywhere. It just looked like I had this bruise — just—” he jabbed a finger to his cheekbone, jerking his head the tiniest bit, "been hit, or something."

"Some people go for that," Joe commented, his eyebrows raising. He propped an elbow up on his knee and rested his chin top his fist. "All rough and tough, and that."

Rami rolled his eyes. "Because bruises are  _ sexy _ ." He nodded, giving his best approximation of a smolder that he could, under the circumstances.

Joe kept it together for all of six seconds before he was laughing, his head pitched back.

O'Malley made a displeased sound, piping up with Joe's name. Joe sobered almost instantly, looking back to his boyfriend. O'Malley hauled himself up to his feet. "So, Collin's tire popped on the way up. I'm gonna go down and help him out."

"Oh," Joe murmured. His arms were hooked around his knees, leaning back so he could look up to Rich. "Should I come with you? I can help."

O'Malley just shook his head, a little twist in his lips. "Nah, we'll be fine." Joe's hands tightened around his legs as O'Malley leaned down to press a kiss to his forehead. "I'll pick you up later, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, that's cool. Go help." Joe batted him away. "Good luck."

After O'Malley left, there was a little silence between the remaining three. The boy across the fire began patting down his pockets, cursing under his breath. "I think Jackson has my cigs. Maz, do you have any?"

Joe laughed breathily, raising his hands. "Not at the moment, sorry." The other muttered something about a girl named Astell and got up, leaving.

"You know, even if you're not getting lucky tonight, you can always say you were." Joe piped up again in an attempt to fill the silence before it turned sour. He reached out, prodding Rami's chin until it tilted to the side.

Rami stared at him, as Joe looked at his stained skin — a sort of irony, Rami thought, because he was doing the same thing in the parlor just a fair few hours ago. He could no longer see the hickey poking out of Joe's collar, but the sudden reminder that it was there twisted Rami's gut something terrible.

"Is it that bad?" Rami asked, concerned.

"Well, it's fuel to an overactive imagination." Joe winked at him and took his hand back, settling back into his spot. Rami took a drink of his soda just to avoid looking at him, hoping that the warmth in his cheeks could be translated to their proximity to the fire.

There was a buzzing in the base of his skull, frizzing with the baseline of the music that had dulled out, played from a different car further down the clearing.

And then there was an altogether different kind of pricking on his nape. The feeling of eyes on him. He looked over his shoulder to see Lucy ambling towards him. She fell into place next to him, a giggly, drunken mess.

He cursed lightly, worried that she might not be able to stay up. she grinned at him, rubbing a hand between his shoulder blades. "Hello, lover," she chirped. "How are we, this fine, fine evening?"

"Maybe not as wasted as others," Joe joked, leaning over into Lucy's sight. Her eyes lit up, and she laughed.

"You're funny," she told him, like he hadn’t a clue. She stretched over, holding out her hand palm-up. When he put his hand in hers, Lucy squeezed it until Rami thought her knuckles would turn white. "And so  _ cute _ !"

"Okay, alright, Luce," Rami cut in, gently taking her had from Joe's. "You're fucking wasted."

"Hey now," Joe exclaimed, "we were complimenting me, Rams, show a little consideration."

Rami shot him a deadpan look at the same time Lucy reeled back with a " _ Yeah, Rami! _ " and slapped his shoulder. She turned back to Joe with a pretty smile, offering her hand again. "'m Lucy."

"Joe."

They shook hands, and not seconds later, Lucy dissolved into giggles again.

"Joe," Lucy repeated, her voice thick with a laugh just-barely contained, "this is Rami, my best B." She cupped the side of Rami's face, directing him to face Joe. "Isn't he pretty, Joe? Don't his eyes just..." She trailed off, like she had forgotten how to speak, or what language as a concept was, in general. "Don't they haunt you? Aren’t they pretty?"

"Oh yeah," Joe agreed, nodding his head along with her. He shot Rami an amused glance, biting his lip to try and quell his own laughter. "I feel like he's staring right into my goddamn soul."

Rami groaned miserably. "Alright, thanks for that, Lucy." He tried to make her sit back on her heels. The way she was up on her knees, unbalanced so near the fire made him nervous.

And then it was like a light-bulb appeared above his head. He scooted back, taking her with him. "Here, sit down. I'll braid your hair."

She quite literally dove into his lap. She fixed herself between his legs, with his thighs on either side of her’s. She shifted her hips, trying to get comfortable, adjusting and smoothing her skirt around her.

Rami buried his fingers in Lucy's hair, gently combing out knots and smoothing the strands down while Joe watched, utterly in awe.

"It was like, instantaneous." He clicked his fingers in the air. "She just complied like  _ that _ ."

"People who like having their hair played with," Rami said with a shrug. "It's kind of like its own brand of desperation."

Joe hummed knowingly at the same time Lucy nodded. Rami sectioned off her hair, tossing a good chunk over her shoulder.

"Oh, look at that," a new voice said. "Looks like you owe me dinner." Rami looked up to see Ben and Gwil coming to settle among the fire. Gwil, the one who had spoken grinned over at Ben, who waved his hand at him absently.

"Bet's off," he huffed. "This happens every bloody time, there's no fucking sense in the same bet applying to every social gathering."

"You just say that because you have to pay for dinner," Gwil pointed out, looking victorious. He smiled at the others, bright as the fucking sun. "Evening, everyone. How are we?"

"Drunk as all hell," Rami answered, nodding down to Lucy.

"I do know when you're talking about me, dearest," she noted, no bite to her bark. She seemed quite content with her new situation in life, with his hands in her hair. Rami would bet good money that her eyes had fallen shut.

"I should hope so," Rami quipped, leaning forward to kiss the top of her head.

"So, sorry if this is a repetitive question in your lives, but is this a  _ thing _ ?" Joe asked, flicking a finger between Rami and Lucy, a pensive twist to his mouth.

Lucy hummed. "If only," she sighed dreamily, shaking her head.

"Head straight, please," Rami scolded, pulling on a strand of her hair to make a point. "No, Joe, we're not."

"Yeah, exactly. They're not dating, rather in a sort of civil-union. Practically married already," Gwil replied, looking at Joe seriously. Rami shot him a glare over the fire.

"Fuck off," he muttered.

Ben laughed. "Right! You two send each their St. Valentine's gifts, don't you?"

Lucy pointed a finger at him, frowning. "We all send them to each other," she pointed out. "Don't you dare devalue our friendship-tines, alright? This is a sacred circle. We're all lovers here."

Joe hummed doubtfully, pulling a face. "I dunno about that," he mused dubiously. "Kind of have a boyfriend already.”

"Yeah," Ben cried out, "and I'm  _ much _ too gay to be your lover, Lucy, I do apologize."

Rami didn't see Lucy roll her eyes, per se, but her entire head moved with the motion — so, he kinda did. "That's nonsense," she tutted at last. "You all must realize." She took in a deep breath, pausing steadily. She looked up to Rami with wide eyes. "What are we realizing?" she stage-whispered.

"We're all lovers," Rami encouraged gently.

"Ah! Yes!" she exclaimed, looking back over the  rest of the boys. "We're all lovers. That's it, I'm finished."

Ben nodded solemnly. "She's been chugging her sippers. It's the only answer."

It pulled laughs from the group, and Lucy chucked her empty cup at him. It didn't get far, rather falling just short of the fire, instead.

The conversation went on, comfortable and warm in their own little bubble around the fire. Rami continued to braid Lucy's hair, Ben and Gwil flirted through a  _ very _ thin veil, and Joe blended with the group seamlessly. Rami was delighted with this little development. He and Joe weren't very close, but Ben was right. They got on very well. Joe had an adaptive, open personality. He was so funny, and eager to get a laugh out of everyone he could.

Rami had to remind himself to focus on the French braid he was supposed to be putting together, rather than how the firelight played off of Joe's features.

Dear God. This was going to be trouble.

* * *

It was late, well after midnight when Joe got the text. He read it aloud, with a scrunch to his nose, a frown creasing his eyebrows. "Can you find another ride home? I think the party might be over by the time we're done." He squinted at his screen at the same time Rami frowned.

"Is that Rich?" Rami asked, just catching himself from calling him  _ O'Malley _ with a certain level of contempt in his voice. Joe nodded vaguely, letting the question hang in the air for a little bit longer. Lucy — who had since fallen asleep against Rami — and he had to adjust her into his chest, wrapping his arms around her shoulders to keep her from slipping away from him.

"Yeah, apparently there was something more wrong to the car than just a busted tire, who knows. They’re waiting for a tow truck." He locked his phone and slipped it back into his pocket. "Who knows. Uh..." He grinned sheepishly. "In the spirit of 'we're all lovers in the circle,' would any of you mind giving me a ride home tonight? I was supposed to just be staying over at Rich's, but I mean?" He shrugged a shoulder as if to say  _ look at how that turned out! _

"Sounds like it might be off the table," Rami finished for him. He glanced over to the boys, Gwil, who was already looking at him. Ben was looking at Gwil, Rami guessed he was reassessing their plans. That's right, Rami remembered, they had plans after this. They were probably going to go walk barefoot across some pier, holding hands, filling the night with quiet conversation.

"I'll do it," he spoke up. He looked over to Joe with a little purse in his lip. "If you wanna ride with us."

The smile Joe gave him was goddamn ethereal. "Thank you, Rami," he said, eyes soft and warm.

Rami shrugged him off, cause, really, it was nothing. "Look, as long as you help me get my drunk wife to the car, we'll be golden.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you thoouuuuggghhhhhhhh
> 
> it took a gd lot to bring this chapter to life. I think I rewrote it? like 5 times? it was rough, buddy -- but i hope you all liked it!!
> 
> [here's my tumblr!!](https://mazlektov.tumblr.com/)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not to jinx myself but i think my days of writing small chapters are behind us tbQh

The morning after, Rami was at his desk, his laptop in front of him. He was trying to get at least a block of his homework done for now. Halfway through a question set, he heard shuffling and a tired mumbling behind him. He glanced over his shoulder as Lucy trudged into his room. The collar of her shirt drooped about as much as her shoulders did. She was scrubbing at her eyes, and there was a tired pout on her mouth.

"Good morning, gorgeous." He smiled at her as she dropped onto the edge of his bed. Whenever she stayed over, she slept in Rami's sister's old room, but it looked like she may as well have slept in a bush. She was in a fucking _state_. She gathered all of her hair over one shoulder before she even _considered_ speaking. She shot a dirty look to his opened curtains and the sunshine shining from behind them as if they'd made it their life's purpose to be particularly horrid to her.

"Rami," she finally greeted him. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back, her hands fall in a pile on her lap. "Anything interesting happen after I fell under?"

"We got you to the car," he offered. He left out the juicy details about how he'd nearly twisted his ankle on a patch of uneven ground, and how Gwil had to piggyback her the rest of the way, but that was unimportant. He tapped his fingers along the armrest of his chair as he swung to face her. "You woke up halfway home, demanded we go get chocolate flurries, and then passed back out... At some point, you added Joe to our group chat."

That was a fact he'd learned this morning, with Gwil complaining loudly about a knot in his shoulder. Joe had messaged back, confused and seemingly disoriented as to why he was even in said group chat. The boys were delighted at the development, so they made him stay.

"Our snap circle?" Lucy asked, picking her head back up to look at him, scrutiny behind her eyes.

"WhatsApp."

"Ah." It looked like _that_ had made a lot more sense to her. Her golden hair caught the light as he combed her fingers through. "He must have made _quite_ the impression."

"You called him cute almost ten seconds after meeting him." He rubbed a palm over his jaw and then slid it around towards his nape so his fingers could play with the collar of his shirt. " _Almost_ . He... must have made _some_ kind of impression on you."

She sent him a lazy smirk. "Maybe I just like redheads." Her eyebrows jumped up and down before she dipped her head, letting her hair fall back over her eyes.

He laughed and twisted back to his laptop, dragging his finger over the touch-pad to bring it back to life. "Maybe. But, yeah, you know, he's great. Very funny."

"Oh yeah?" Lucy hummed.

Rami nodded absently. He clicked through to the next set of questions with a certain lack of enthusiasm. "And you're right, he is cute."

"Why, Rami Malek."

He shrugged a careless shoulder and rolled his heel along the carpet under the desk. When he looked back to Lucy, she made herself comfortable, lying back on bed, her hair fanned over her face — whether it was out of lack of effort to displace it, or if it was intentional as a last-ditch effort to block out the light, he didn't know. Surely, Rami thought, her pale hair couldn't block out the light very well.

"Darling, I think that we ought to get that flurry after all," she declared after a while. She sat up, looking like _The Ring Lite™_. "I need to feel human again."

He bit down a laugh. "Alright," he said. "I'll go tell my mom, you get dressed."

* * *

 

**_Circle of Lovers_ **

**the prettier blonde**  
Now, tell me please  
Who changed the chat name  
I loved the last one  
It really encapsulated who we were as a group.

 **hardley tolerable**  
"Lucy and Her Male Friends."  
Right, that just about did it.

 **the prettier blonde**  
It was APT  
And I treasured it

 **raminy crickets!**  
can i just point out that you're the one who changed it...

Lucy looked up from her phone and squinted at him from across the Wendy's table. "No, you may not," she told him outright, aloud, over the table, when the text conversation did indeed begin in _text_.

 **knock-off-will**  
You know what i rather think i like it  
Mostly because i cant stop thinking about lucy shouting 'we're all lovers here'  
That was really something else

 **the prettier blonde**  
I have a lot of love to give, please give me a bit of R e s p i t e

Rami snorted and looked at her in all of her messy haired, too-large sweater and a hint of yesterday's mascara smudged just-so.

"You look like you need it," he teased. She kicked him under the table, laughing like she couldn't believe he would say something like that.

She tapped the screen and held the phone up a little more, pulling a fake pout and a voice to match. "Rami is being mean to me," she complained. "Someone please come and take him off my poor, poor hands." She sent the voice message and set her phone back down on the table in front of her, face up. She took a sip from her chocolate flurry and looked at Rami. She smiled innocently. Him? He flicked a french fry at her.

 **marshzello**  
i somehow doubt that's even a thing he can do tbah

 **hardley tolerable**  
Alright, 1) Tbah? That literally just sounds like

Rami's phone vibrated with an incoming voice message. It was crackly, with who Rami was Gwilym cackling in the background. Ben shushed him and cleared his throat. "Tee- _bah_ ," he said, voice deadpan until the end syllable, which he drew out for a solid five seconds.

 **hardley tolerable**  
2) You know NOTHING. Rami is chaotic evil, and you'd best remember that. Because I have Many stories.

 **raminy crickets!**  
:]]

 **the prettier blonde**  
Yes honestly. Who just sends emoticons like that in This Day and Age

"Why, I do," Rami said, grinning up at her. She snorted at him before taking another sip of her drink.

 **the prettier blonde**  
I vote we Evict Him

 **raminy crickets!**  
and just what exactly happened to "i have a lot of love to give, rami." "thank you for buying me lunch, rami" "thank you for not letting me make out with anyone weird last night, rami"?

 **the prettier blonde**  
Cursed.

She grinned at him over the table, a little laugh shaking her shoulders.

 **marshzello**  
*eyes emojis*  
also not to i n t e r r u p t but like  
To Be ABSOLUTELY Honest  
cmon guys  
rlly  
get it together

 **hardley tolerable**  
That's nearly as cursed as drunk Rami.

 **marshzello**  
god i wanna know everything

 

Rami stared down at his phone for a solid fifteen seconds before flipping it upside down. Lucy laughed at him. "You've offended him," she declared, presumably to another voice message. "He's stewing in emotion."

He scoffed and waved his hand at her. "Eat your fries," he told her, "we need to get you home."

Lucy winked at him before slipping her phone back into her pant's pocket. "Very well," she hummed, nodding studiously. "Good news. I still like Joe." She smiled brightly.

Rami nodded, reaching forward to snag a salt packet to fiddle with. "Me too."

Their conversation found an idle little pace, spliced with comfortable little silences every once in awhile.

Rami got Lucy home safely, promising to gather the clothes she left at his house and bring them to rehearsal Monday night.

It was sort of strange, adjusting to the new addition to the chat. The strange thing, though, was not the fact that Joe was there at all — it was the fact that he fit so damn _well_. He had a fantastic sense of humor, and they all seemed to click with him immediately.

This was going to make trouble, Rami thought vaguely, every time he smiled down at his phone. Sami even asked him who the hell he was texting. Rami just shrugged and went on, closing out of his text window.

He was _fucked_.

It was fine, though. He'd just figure out how to deal with hit all, and he'd move on.

The theory was simple, sure thing. The application was a little harder.

* * *

 Without fail, Monday morning rolled around, and Rami found himself _ambushed_.

Joe cornered him in the hall, his hands shoved in his presumably-borrowed Letterman jacket with a little frown twisting his mouth.

"So, I've been thinking about Saturday," he started off.

Rami's eyebrows rose. "Oh yeah? What's up?"

Joe made an uncomfortable noise in the back of his throat. When he pulled his hand out of his pocket, he was holding a twenty dollar bill. "Here," he said, offering him the money. "For the ride home."

Rami just stared at his hand until Joe shook the bill between them. Rami's mouth pulled into a frown as his eyes flicked back up to Joe's. "You don't have to do that," he told him. "It's fine, man." He turned to his locker and busied his hands with unlocking the box, pulling it open.

"Look," Joe propped his shoulder up by Rami's locker, a frown fitted to his face. "I feel like I've gotta do _something_ , Rams."

Now, Rami wasn't sure when this 'Rams' thing started, but he wasn't wholly opposed to it. (Deeper down 'wasn't opposed to' translated to it made his chest bubble with giddiness and made his nape all tingly. — But deeper down. _Much_ deeper down.)

"Seriously Joe, you don't have to feel like you... need to repay me, or something." Rami pulled his phone from his locker and slipped it into his pocket. He braced his hand on the locker door and turned to face Joe, his lips pursed. Joe stared back at him, a stubbornness in his eyes.

"You totally didn't have to give me a ride home."

Rami shrugged. "You were left there, I couldn't just leave you stranded." He gathered his notebook and textbook from the locker and stuffed them into the backpack at his feet.

Joe groaned and kicked his foot out in front of him, missing Rami by a good margin as he shook out his lingering energy. "At least let me buy you lunch."

Rami squinted up at him from where he was crouched. "It's almost two in the afternoon," he reasoned.

Joe rolled his eyes. "A coffee, then. The boys have practice. We could grab something at Harper's. You know the one down the street from the hardware store?"

Rami nodded. "Yeah, Lucy likes that one. We go there sometimes."

Joe's eyes lit up with his smile. In an effort that could only be described as Herculean, Rami looked away from the boy so he could stand up and shut his locker, twisting the lock.

"So you'll let me?"

Rami made a pained noise and hooked the strap of his backpack over his shoulder. "I have practice at four-thirty."

"Oh yeah?" his tone turned inquisitive, and his head cocked a fraction to the side. "Thought you didn't do sports." A grin cracked his mouth and he leaned his head against the yellow line of lockers. "Swimming, isn't it? I feel like you're a swimmer."

"Rehearsal," Rami corrected, his mouth curling. "It's theater."

Joe's eyebrows jumped. "Theater?" he repeated, voice thick with melodrama. A hand was quick to splay itself on his chest. "Is it the school production? What are they doing these days?"

"It's not for the school," Rami answered him. "It's in a theater across town... We're doing An American in Paris."

Joe nodded along. "Yeah, I don't know that one," he admitted after a second of totally- unconvincing studiousness. Rami shrugged, not offering any more information. "So you'll let me take you for a coffee? I'll get you wherever you need to be before four-thirty."

Rami bit his lip, weighing his options, little though they were. After a moment, he relented, nodding. "Okay."

Joe cheered, pumping his fist in the air in a fit of energy. "Okay, great. Here's my — fuck, where's a —” He dug in his pockets for a moment before coming up with a Paper Mate stick pen. He took Rami's hand in his and tugged up his shirt sleeve. He curled his fingers around the back of Rami's hand to hold him still as he wrote his number out on Rami's forearm. "Here's my number. Text me when you get out, okay?"

Rami nodded vaguely. It looked like Joe was about to turn away when he made a face. "You... _do_ know that we're in the same chat, right?" he asked, looking up at Joe. "I've got your number."

Joe stared at him for a long moment, letting that piece of information sink in before he started nodding, oh, so slowly.

"You sure do," he said, squinting presumably at himself. He shrugged, and then Joe was grinning at him, stuffing his pen back in his pocket. "We all knew I'm a fool Rams, no new news." He smile turned a bit rueful, but he still winked playfully at Rami. "Great. So text me. I'll hang around." He shot finger guns at Rami before he twisted and left down the hall, leaving Rami to watch after him for a long moment before snapping back to himself.

He rolled his sleeve back down and went about his day.

* * *

 At least until Lit.

Rami sent a picture of his arm under his desk, sleeve pulled up so that half of the number was exposed.

He typed in the caption under the table and sent it out.

_guess who cornered me before sixth._

**gwilym shakespeare**  
The fact that you've sent this over snapchat instead of our group text leads me to believe it's Joe's  
You don't even USE snapchat, rami

 **rami**  
i dont want to encourage your and ben's foolery.  
look. Joe wont listen to me. wants to repay me for driving him home saturday

**_gwilym shakespeare is typing . . ._ **

 

Rami clicked his phone off and stuck it under his thigh, looking up to the smart board.  He jotted down a note on their assignment and glanced down again.

 

 **_gwilym shakespeare_**  
Assert your dominance as the head queer by paying before he can

 **rami**  
i  think that defeats the purpose of this

 **_gwilym shakespeare_**  
But think of the benefits  
Wait wait wait is Maz even privy to that information  
The gay bits?  
It's not like you're running around with a pride flag pasted to your forehead.

 **rami**  
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm right, so about that.

 

"Mr. Malek, please pay attention," Mrs. H called. Rami snapped his eyes up to her and grimaced.

"Sorry," he murmured, putting his phone face-down atop his thigh, straightening up to pay better attention.

He dutifully copied down the notes, composed his own, and drifted into space for the next twenty minutes, fully aware of the silent buzzing of his phone. He slipped the device into his pocket as he shoved the rest of his things into his bag.

Funnily enough, almost suspected that he'd get ambushed outside the door.

Gwilym threw his arm over his shoulder when he'd gotten no more than fifteen feet from the door. Gwilym's sixth wasn't far down the hall, so they usually walked together, anyway.

"Tell me," he commanded, "was it a flippant mention?" He accidentally jostled Rami's bag, but seemed to roll past the fact with relative ease. "Did you get caught with someone? Oh my God, you didn't have a go at it with _Adam_ again, did you? He's nice and all, Rami—”

Rami's glare was sharp, but it seemed little effect beyond making Gwil pause his sentence. "We were around the fire, and Joe _asked_ —”

"If you're gay?" He frowned in thought. "That's out of character for him; he's not usually one to just jump on assumptions."

"No." He shrugged Gwil's arm off his shoulders and turned to him, walking backwards down the crowded hall. Probably a bad move, but if someone tripped over him and got him out of this conversation, that would be pretty wonderful. "Rich told him."

Gwil's frown turned comical as his head drew back. "Rich?" he repeated. " _Richard O'Malley_ knows?"

Rami rolled his eyes. "Not from me. I don't know where he heard from, either. And, you know, he..." he trailed off, looking off to the side, his mouth twisting up at the corners, though it couldn't have been described as a smile, "called me gay." He flicked his eyes back to Gwil, who just blinked twice at him.

"Is this instance different from what we'd just established?" he asked, gesticulating with a flippant hand.

"...Yeah? It was — okay, no, when Joe asked if I was with this girl, he corrected him. 'No, Joe, he's _gay_ .' Not bisexual. _Gay_. He said it like that, too."

Gwilym hummed. He shoved his hands in his pockets. "He might have just forgotten?" Rami made a small noise and jerked his shoulder. They'd stopped off at Gwil's locker, now. Rami leaned back against the adjacent box as the taller boy opened his locker. He worked quickly before he shut it again. He twisted to look at Rami. "Maybe he's one of _those_ ," Gwilym mused lightly. "The 'choose a side' types. You never really know."

Rami's mouth screwed off to the side. "Maybe," he granted. His eyes flicked up at Gwil and sighed through his nose. "I don't," he twisted his hand between them, as if drawing the words from the air, "get a good feeling from him,Gwil."

Gwil nodded. "I'm not one to rag on a teammate," he dropped his voice a bit, tossing Rami a significant look, "but the feeling is both mutual and fairly universal, as I understand it."

Rami clicked his tongue. "Joe likes him fine," he argued, tone tired and altogether ready to move the topic onto happier things.

"Yeah, people usually like their boyfriends," Gwil said. _I know I do,_ was implied, but it was plain in Rami's ears nonetheless.

And of course, speak of the devil and he shall appear. Ben came sauntering up to him, his hand in his pocket and his head in his phone. He looked up at Rami expectantly.

"Now, don't tell me I've missed it," he said, voice pitching. "You've told him without me?"

Gwil smirked at him, reaching his foot out to kick at Ben's ankle. "Guess he just likes me best then, doesn't he?" he teased. "Rami loves me, didn't you know?"

Ben laughed dryly, making a face at his boyfriend. "Funny. You really are. Now, are you _planning_ on becoming a stand up comic, or is it just your face?"

Gwil laughed, tipping his head back. Rami caught the way Ben's face cracked and how his eyes glittered. He smiled at them both. Gwil kicked at Ben's ankle again, though this time, Ben kicked back. Gwil sprang back with a laugh.

"Alright, boys," Rami interrupted, slumping against the line of lockers. "Save this tension for the field, thank you."

Ben snorted, but settled down. "I expect you to tell me all about this later, but for now..." He came next to Rami, his hands delving in his pockets. "What are you going to do about Joe?"

Rami shrugged. "It doesn't sound like he's going to drop it until I let him 'settle.' Is he always like this?"

Ben rolled his neck as he thought. "It relaxes, I think, when you become better friends with him. It's not like we have a running tab going, me and him. He doesn't like owing things to people."

Rami nodded absently. "So I let him buy me a coffee?" It sounded like a guess, even in his own ears.

"There you are," Ben said, clapping him on the shoulder.

They spent another minute chatting among themselves, before they all split ways.

At the end of classes, Rami found himself in the senior parking lot, waiting for Joe to text him back.

It took him six whole minutes to come up with his opening text. He spent half that just secretly praying that Joe would spot him before he'd have to send it.

No such luck.

 **rami**  
hey, this is rami. I'm in the parking lot, whenever you're ready  
if you're not done, I can go fuck around the soccer field for a while, no worries.

It only occurred to Rami after he sent the text, bleachers overlooking the field would have been an adequate meeting place. Did he send another text, though? No. He sat on one of the benches just off the lot and popped in his earbuds, thumbing over to one of his well-loved playlists.

Joe texted him not long later.

It occurred to Rami that it might have been faster if he'd just set out walking and met Joe there. He'd have been there by now.

He didn't mind the wait all that much. The crowded lot cleared out soon enough, with most of the kids going home or otherwise. There were a few lingering groups, some cars from the school's athletes. Joe came jogging up the sidewalk a minute later. His backpack was snug on his back, but his hair was sweaty, face flushed.

Rami pulled an earbud out of his ear as Joe approached him. A tired smile pulled at his mouth, looking a little rueful. "Hi," he breathed out. Rami just blinked up at him, taking in his state, daring himself not to linger his gaze on his mouth.

"Hey man," Rami said, standing up. "Shall we?"

Joe nodded and lead him to his car. It was an old, but well loved thing. Rami quite thought that Joe was the type to name his cars, call them 'she' and 'his baby'. He didn't bring it up. They put their backpacks into the backseat before they got in. Joe clicked his tongue as he turned the key in the ignition. "I forgot to ask if you were driving today."

Rami shook his head, watching as Joe fiddled with the radio before just connecting his phone with an AUX cord. "No, I don't live too far from here. I usually walk. Sometimes I catch a ride."

Joe nodded thoughtfully. "So, Ben huh? You guys good friends?"

"Yeah, he's one of my best."

"Mm, good. Ben's a good guy." He sped up as they left the school zone. The cafe wasn't too far down. During the school year, it was a favorite hangout for the seniors of their school, as they were allowed off campus for lunches. Business quieted a little in the summers, but there were always students to glean from, especially those from the city's university. "So dude," Joe started back up as he parked the car. "An actor, huh? Have I ever seen you in anything?" He grinned, reaching over to jab Rami's arm with his elbow.

Rami laughed. "...Not unless you've seen a collection of small-time productions around the area," he said. He shrugged a shoulder with a close-mouthed smile. "Hopefully someday."

They got out of the car and Joe locked the doors after them. Rami held the door open for Joe, who thanked him with a smile and a nod.

They slotted themselves in line, and Joe looked back to him, curiosity swimming in his eyes. "So you're gonna try to go with this, then? Try to get on film, or something?"

"That's the plan," he told him assuredly.

Joe regarded him with a look in his eyes that Rami couldn't exactly dissect. He raised his eyebrows in question, and it seemed like Joe caught whatever he was pitching, cause he let out a breathy little laugh.

"I bet you're great at it." They shuffled further up the line, and Joe shot him a sideways look. His hands were tucked into the pockets of his Letterman-style jacket. It was yellow, in the school colors. Unbuttoned and hanging free, with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows, it suited him.

Rami thanked him half-hardheartedly, not really one to judge his own talent. He was a bit of a perfectionist when it came to acting. A nightmare for his dance partners, he knew.

"Tell you what," Joe went on, bumping Rami with his elbow once more. "When's your play? I'll come. Make you sign my program and everything." He smiled wickedly. "Maybe I can sell it for something one day."

Rami laughed and knocked their shoulders together. The line moved forwards, and suddenly it was their turn at the counter.

Joe ordered a tea. Lavender with almond milk. Rami ordered without really looking. It was something small and iced with cream. Joe led them back to a little table surrounded by mismatched chairs. He settled into one like it was his declared favorite, cupping his tea in his hands. Rami took the chair across from him, sipping his coffee idly as he took in the place. It was moderately busy, but with a lot of through-traffic — lots came, few stayed to lounge in the chairs and take advantage of the free wifi.

"I think it's funny—” Joe took a quick sip and put his cup down on the table in front of him. He melted back into the chair, crossing an ankle over the opposite knee. He tipped his head to the side, looking Rami over like he was trying to get a read on him. "It's kinda weird that we've never hung out before. Like, we're both friends with Ben, you know? And you hang around a lot, I see you in school all the time, but we've never really talked."

Rami nodded. "Yeah, well you know, I guess we've never really had the opportunity before. I'm not really friends with anyone else on the team, and, like, I stick to Gwil and Ben most of the time."

"Yeah, but seems like we'd have connected _sometime_ along there. You seem really great."

Rami shrugged a shoulder, not bothering to fight down the flattered smile. "Thanks," he muttered. "I guess it’s, kinda happening now.."

Joe laughed and sat up in his chair, snagging his mug. "Well Rami... It's finally happened. Helluva cheers to that, man." He clinked their cups together and he took a drink.

Rami lifted his cup to him and did the same. “Cheers.”

* * *

 They hung around until Rami was finished with his coffee.

Despite Gwilym’s _wonderful_ advice, Rami let Joe pay — though not after telling him that “ _Really, Joe. You didn’t have to.”_

Joe just smirked at him. “It’s done,” he’d said. “You can pay next time.”

“I’ll hold you to it,” Rami replied.

They drove to the theater, and Rami retrieved his bag from the backseat.

“Do you need a ride home?” Joe asked him before he shut the door. He was twisted partly around, his his hand braced on the passenger headrest.

Rami smiled at him but he shook his head. “No thanks,” he said, “Lucy and I take the bus home. We’ll be fine, don’t worry about it.”

Joe nodded thoughtfully before he threw Rami a half-smile. “Knock ‘em dead, Rams.”

Rami snorted, his nose scrunching up. “I’ll sure try.” He shut the car door and ran across the lot to the backdoor, not even bothering to pull his backpack on.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _  
> **What we didn't see:**  
>  _
>
>>  
>> 
>> **lucy00boynton’s story**
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> A shot of Rami rushing into the room, his bag in his hands. He sets it down before fussing with his hair. The caption reads _“my one true love coming in, looking like a flustered, flaky pastry.”_ There is a thinking emoji in GIF form twirling around in the lower left corner.
> 
> * * *
> 
>  
> 
> bruh how does one write rami's voice? he's the embodiment of "talking,,,,,, like this,,,,,,,"
> 
> anyway, I hope you like this!! took a little longer than i planned, but we still made it babey
> 
> [here's my tumblr](https://mazlektov.tumblr.com/)! I take requests for just abt anything tbh.
> 
> Please comment! It makes my day every time I get a notif that one of you guys have posted one omg


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh my good god this chapter started out so differently

"I'm in trouble." The words were spoken with a such certain brand of intensity that Lucy paused to look up at him. She was stretching on the floor despite the fact that they weren't rehearing any dances today.

"You're looking chipper today, my love," she said, ignoring his opening line.

He folded in on himself and sat next to her, dropping his bag at his side. He took a moment to find his water bottle in his bag before going on. "If you've got any advice on how to stop being attracted to someone, that'd be fabulous...” He took off the cap of the water bottle and held it in his palm, thumbing along the little ridges.

Lucy made a little sound and went back to stretching. "You can't pick who you're attracted to, Rami, just your reaction to it."

Scoffing, he took a little drink. "That doesn't help me," he deadpanned. "I _like_ him." He took a drink and recapped his bottle.

“Isn’t that how these things usually go?”

He sent her a withering look, and she just laughed at him.  “No, this is worse.”

“If you say so.” She stood and looked down at him. "Would it make things better if you mentioned it to him?"

Rami thought the fact that she didn’t even have to ask who this ‘he’ was, was damning all on its own.

He sent her a withering look, and she laughed. "Okay, then. So you had a crush on him before you began talking, and it hasn't gone since you've started, so..." She sat back up and shook out her shoulders. “Let it fade?” it sounded like a poorly framed question to Rami. Like her little advice bag spilled all out on the ground and she was fumbling around, trying to tell him something that at least made sense.

“Luce…”

She shook her head, gaining steam as she went on. “No, let it fade. Spend time with him. Enjoy who he is. Become his friend _._ ”

He… guessed that it worked. He nodded slowly, as if processing the thought. “I’m still attracted to him,” he informed her, trying not to deflate again.

She just raised an eyebrow at him. “Oh. And you don’t think I’m pretty?” She gave him a little pout, and he laughed at her.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“And you’ve never even _once_ looked at our dear Gwilym and thought ‘ _Daaammmmnnn okay.’_ ” She gave him a stern look, and Rami sighed.

“You can’t use that against me,” he told her, pointing a finger at her. It was a last-ditch effort. A dodge just to avoid admitting that she was right. Rami was a sensible human. One that didn’t make a big deal out of crushes.

She hummed. "Maybe not. But I _can_ tell you that you’ve got nothing to worry about. Just let it go Rami, it’ll be fine.” She nudged his thigh with the toe of her shoe. “As a matter of fact, we should get together with him again soon. This week, maybe.”

Rami laughed and pushed himself up to stand. “I think you just like him.”

“Your ugly green monster is showing, Rami.” Rami tossed her a wary look, but didn’t follow up. She seemed to take it as an opportunity to go on. “Here’s what I’ll do. I’ll talk to the boys and see if they want to go on a hike with us. We’ll invite Joe, go have lunch afterwards, and we’ll all have loads of fun. Yes?”

Really, what was Rami to do but to go along with her?

He had _just_ voiced his approval when their director seemingly materialized out of thin air, already looking run ragged. Like a switch of professionalism  was clicked, Rami was ready to focus on work, putting thoughts of pretty-eyed gingers out of his head.

* * *

Joe himself was getting ready to bang his head against the fucking table. He stood up from his couch and stretched out his arms, sighing as he dropped his head back. “I’m going absolutely crazy,” he whined. “If I have to look at this paper for one more second, I’m _actually_ going to lose it.”

“We could take a break,” Rich suggested. Joe cut him a sour look, not bothering to mention how he’d seemed to have abandoned Joe barely a half-hour into this whole study session, more interested in his phone than the PowerPoint presentation he was supposed to be putting together. Rich locked his phone and let it fall face-first onto his chest, looking up at Joe with his eyebrows raised. “Go get a bite?” He gave it a beat, and then a lazy smirk came upon him, and he tipped his chin back the barest millimeter. “Or we could just take your mind off it here.”

Snorting, Joe dropped back to the couch with a shake of his head. One of Rich’s feet was pinned behind him, digging into his lower back so he scooted forwards the smallest bit to make room. “My Mom’s still here,” he reminded him dryly.

“We could sneak up to your room,” Richard offered, pulling himself up to his elbows. His eyes gleamed, and Joe made a little face at him.

He let it drop with a laugh. “ _No_.” He reached over and pushed him back down to the couch with a hand on his chest. “We’re not fooling around when we’re not alone."

Richard let himself fall with a little groan. “You’re no fun,” he sighed melodramatically. Joe caught a sound in his throat, his smile waning. “Do you still want to go eat. You know. Since you won’t let me love ya.” Joe could easily imagine him batting his eyelashes in order to spike temptation in Joe. Sure, it was funny, but Joe knew how quickly the playfulness would twist to actual disappointment, and eventual moodiness.

He cast a weary glance to his notebook and papers and sighed. He wasn’t going to get any more work done, especially not if Rich was gonna sulk about it every step of the way. “Alright,” he relented, realizing it was the best option. He might as well accept that it was going to be a _'try to cram as much as you can before midnight_ ' type of deal. “Yeah, let’s go.”

Richard cheered and flung himself upright. He kissed Joe before prying his foot out from behind him and climbing off the couch. “I’m going to take my jacket back from your room, cool?"

“Yeah, it’s on my… bed.” He trailed off, as Richard was already halfway across the room. He puffed out a sigh and slumped back against the couch. He only stayed for about a second before leaning up and snagging his phone from the coffee table. Various notifications flicked across the screen before he unlocked it. He cast a little glance to the stairs before he thumbed to the WhatsApp chat down in his social media folder.

Their chat was really something else. Full of activity and twice the personality. They were great, all open-armed welcomes. Even if he’d really only known half the group to begin with, he thought they got on rather nicely. Especially with Lucy. She was fun and playful, teasing him and the other boys openly, with plenty of affection. And then there was Rami. Which Joe was not even gonna get started on—

The chat had recently cooled down, the last message from around an hour ago, and directed at him, of all people.

They were going out and wanted Joe to come with them. Lucy asked _specifically_ if he wanted to come. They were going on a hike, grabbing a bite to eat afterwards. He sent out a text, telling them that he’d get back to them within a few hours.

Gwilym sent a smiley face, told him to let them know just any time before Saturday. Joe gave him an affirmative before getting up. He pocketed his phone and went to go find his sneakers. Rich came down a second later, wearing his jacket and carrying his shoes in-hand.

The diner they went to was across town, with tacky decorations and waitresses in cream colored uniforms. A wacky place, but they’d made it a bit of a habit of dropping into this establishment in particular. They had usual orders, and everything.

As Rich ordered for them, Joe settled back into his side of the booth. His fingers fussed with each other, twisting this way and that before he realized Rich was staring at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Lost somewhere?” he asked, smirking in amusement.

Joe snorted. “Yeah.” He smoothed his palms down his jeans instead. “We’re not doing anything this Saturday, right?”

“Uhm… I don’t think so.” Rich frowned. He tapped his fingers on the back of his cell phone in thought. “Why?”

“Just making sure,” Joe shrugged. “Some friends invited me to go hiking.” Rich made a little sound, nodding slowly. Joe’s fingers itched. “Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy. That guy we met after the game, Rami Malek? He’ll be there, I think.” He didn’t bother mentioning Lucy, as he was pretty sure Rich hadn’t met her, yet.

Rich nodded and sipped on his coke. “Sounds fun.” It didn’t sound sardonic, and that’s what Joe took as the green light.

He smiled. “Cool.”

As the waitress slid their food onto the table, Joe slipped his phone out of his pocket tapped through to the group chat.

 **marshzello**  
ill be there!!

* * *

Rami had known this was coming since Monday. That was six whole days to prepare himself. Six days to set reminders to go to bed early, six days to remember that _hey, you’ve got something going on Saturday, maybe get hyped_.

Instead, he was ready to curse out the morning for all it was. Days shouldn’t start before nine AM, and it was going to stick with that until his dying day. No exceptions. It was too early to be up and around. It was _certainly_ too early to be made to listen to new voice messages left in the chat.

"Why, good morning everybody," the recording of Lucy sounded. It was six o'clock on a _Saturday_ morning. _Normal_ people were asleep right now, and Rami found himself wishing desperately that he was in their shoes.

Lucy Boynton may have a permanent hold on his heart, but this was simply ridiculous.

There was a grumpy grumbling across the room, and Rami lowered the volume before resuming the clip. "Gwilym and I are coming 'round, please be at least presentable by seven."

Rami dipped his head into his pillow and groaned quietly. He felt like he'd been in the middle of a sandstorm without goggles. Every time he blinked, it seemed like his eyelids dragged, grainy and raw. He scrubbed his knuckles into his eyes and sighed harshly out his nose.

He picked his head back up, his face pulled into a surely funny-looking pout as his eyes focused back onto the bright screen.

 **raminey crickets!**  
look i know i agreed to this but it's too much im going back to bed before it’s too late

 **knock-off-will**  
Oh rami  
Dear rami  
It's too late for that  
Im omw to Lucy’s and then we’re coming for you next

 **marshzello**  
aaawwwwwwww, i take it ol ramiroo isn’t a morning person, then

Was he talking out of his _ass_?

 **raminy crickets!**  
ha. ha.

He just dearly hoped that the dry text conveyed his utter lack of emotion properly. After all, it was too fucking early for any emotions aside from distaste and utter exhaustion.

How Rami got himself entangled with a bunch of early risers, he’d never understand.

Rami smushed his cheek into his pillow once more, letting his eyes drift shut. Just another minute, he promised, and then he would get up and get his things together. The only one who was remotely  _not_ an early riser was Ben — and even then he was versatile.

And now look at Rami's luck. Joe was one of them.  ** _Eugh._**

Fifteen minutes passed by before he woke up registering the low pinging of the chat once more. He really ought to mute it again. He didn't read up, but instead took it as a divine sign to drag himself out of bed. He gathered a handful of clothes in the dark and took his bath towel to the bathroom. A shower would surely do the trick. Even if he fell asleep against the tile wall, he could claim that he was just running a little bit late.

Except not actually intending to faint in the bathroom, Rami set the shower a colder than usual. He was out in less than twenty, like it was nothing.

That, however, wasn’t good enough for his dear old band of buds. When he came downstairs, he found Gwil standing in the middle of his kitchen, eating a bowl of cereal whilst Lucy talked with his mom.

Playfully exasperated banter carried them all the way through Gwil hurrying to finish his Frosted Mini Wheats, Rami kissing his mother goodbye, and finally gathering them all back into Gwilym’s car. Rami slid in the backseat with a little huff, stowing his backpack at his feet.

“Tell me why we’re doing this, again,” he commended, though the force behind it was lost in the heaving yawn that tore through the middle of his sentence.

“Team morale, little bit of devious planning. _Friendship_ ,” Gwil singsonged. He braced his hand on Lucy's seat and looked through the back window as he pulled out of the driveway once again. The windows were cracked, but the breeze was minimal as they drove through the neighborhood's slower speed limits. It was a beautiful day, warm and bright. Not even a cloud in the sky.

If only it helped Rami wake  _up_.

He tipped his head back against the seat, letting his eyes slip shut, only opening them again when he was nudged. “Here, darling.” Lucy prodded him with a thermos that clattered with ice when he took it. He thanked her with a smile and set it in his lap.

Did he lie back again? Yeah. He let his eyes drop shut like it was the most natural thing in the world — and the next thing he knew, Ben was sliding into the car. Ben’s shoulder made a much better pillow than craning his neck, he found, and he took full advantage. He hooked his arm in with Ben’s to find a better position, and then he was out again.

He came to when they hit a bump in the road. Blinking, he picked himself back up, blearily taking in his surroundings. The windows were still cracked, and the wind was much stronger now that they were out on the open road. Queen was on the radio, and there was a whole new person boxing Ben into his side. At _some_ point, they stopped off to pick up Joe.

“Good mornin’ sunshine.” Ben grinned at Rami as he withdrew himself and scrubbed at his eyes.

“Hey,” he greeted, his attention more drawn towards Joe, who was nestled on the other side of Ben. “Hi Joe.”

Joe smiled at him. “Welcome back to the land of the living. We really thought we lost you there for a minute.” Rami snorted and bent to find the thermos he’d most certainly dropped to the floorboards. “You know, I was mostly joking about you not being a morning person, but it looks like I hit that right on the head.”

“You did,” Lucy confirmed. She half-twisted in her seat to better look at them. She was beaming bright as the fucking sun. “You couldn’t coax him out of bed if you wet him down.”

“That is _not_ —”

“No, it’s true, I tried it once,” Gwil butt in. “The frozen marbles don’t work, either.”

Ben tapped out the beat to _Liar_ on his thigh and offered absolutely _no_ help when Rami cast a pleading direction his way. He shrugged, a little smugly. He looked to Joe with a little nod. “It’s true.”

Rami scoffed from the back of his throat and took a long drink with an air of indignance. “Save yourself now,” he told Joe grimly, tilting the bottle in his direction. “They’re all a bunch of liars and snakes. Good riddance to them.”

Joe looked absolutely tickled at the whole deal. “Nah, you know what, I think I'm gonna stay for a while.” His face scrunched, his eyes narrowing a little as he nodded. “I’m too attached, now. I know too much.” Lucy laughed and reached back for his hand. She held it, shaking it a little in a fit of camaraderie.

Rami melted into his seat with an insincere huff. Ben nudged him with his shoulder, and that’s all it took for Rami to lean back into him, getting comfortable again. “How much longer do we have?”

Gwil shrugged. Rami could just see his thumb tapping against the steering wheel in the reflection of the window. “Another fifteen minutes, maybe?” he guessed.

It was twenty-five, actually — not that anyone but Ben was counting. He leaned up towards Gwil’s seat as the seventeen minute mark came, and they were just pulling off the main highway.

“Are we there?” he asked pointedly, grinning fiercely at his boyfriend. “I missed the parking space. Should I get out now?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, please do,” Gwil agreed, waving a hand to the window. “You can walk the rest of the way.”

“Let’s not,” Rami spoke up, nudging Ben’s calf with the toe of his sneaker. “Please remember who you’ve got to climb over to get to the door.”

Ben just laughed and clapped a hand to Rami’s shoulder. “Looks like you’re just going to have to come with me, mate.”

Rami’s eye roll was severe, but fleeting. “Bet your ass I’m just going to chuck you out in your own.”

Joe snorted. “You can climb over me Ben, I don’t care.”

Ben whipped his head back to Rami, eyes wide with accusation. “I’m officially dissolving this friendship. I’ve found someone new.” Rami made a grumpy little noise, and Joe looked _much_ too smug for his own good. “It’s just you and me, babes,” Ben told Joe surely, his hand clinging over Joe’s.

Joe looked like he tried to hold it together, but ultimately cracked.

Contrary to Ben’s then-active running commentary and criticisms, it didn’t take much longer until they were pulling up to the circular parking area and unloading. Everyone had their packs strung on their shoulders, and they began their hike.

They took a lesser-used one that Ben had really only been on once, but absolutely _swore by_ , rather than the tried-and-true main road. Lucy just _dared_ him to get them all lost, and he stuck his tongue out at her. The five of them took out a steady pace through the woods, enjoying the fresh air and the sun filtering down through the branches of the trees.

Rami watched as Gwil’s shoulder brushed Ben’s. They shared a conspiratorial look, and Gwil regarded him closely. “You haven’t lost us, have you?”

Ben scoffed, blinking like he couldn’t believe his ears. “No, I haven’t thank you very much,” he sniffed. “But I’d like to lose you.”

“Oh.” Gwil tsked, his hands delving in his pockets as his chest puffed out. He looked to the upper branches and hummed dreamily. “You wouldn’t even know what to do without me.”

Ben tried to hold his blatantly-sour face, Rami knew, but it melted just the same, and a soft little smile took its place. This was usually the part when he snagged Gwil’s hand in his own, or slung Gwil’s arm around his shoulders. Rami saw Ben’s fingers snag Gwil’s watch band for just a moment before thinking better of it, letting his hand drop back to his side. He chanced a look over his shoulder at Joe, even though the boy had already taken up with Lucy, actively chatting with her. His expression tensed just a little before he met Rami’s eyes. The moment seemed to roll off his shoulders, because he popped back into action, declaring that they were going to have to take a left.

They walked for a while longer, until Rami was fairly sure that he couldn’t make it off this mountain alone, even if his life _depended_ on it. The incline was, for the most part, gentle. Sloping at such an angle that it wasn’t noticeable until they had actually gotten a fair ways up, the the incline became more dramatic.

At some point, Joe slipped off his windbreaker and tied it around his waist. He looked a little flushed. Then again so was Rami. It was fucking _hot_. The trees had become sparse as they climbed higher, and the sun only seemed to be getting brighter. Hotter. Even heavier, really.

Joe joked about taking a breather when Ben announced that they were finally there.

“Oh, thank Christ,” Lucy sighed. She seemed rejuvenated at the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel.

 _“We’re here”_ actually meant _“We’ve got a couple hundred more yards and two more twists to make,”_ but Rami wasn’t necessarily going to pin that on Ben. Mostly because he was _tired_ , and seeing the lake took precedence.

And it was worth it.

It was definitely more rocky around here, but there were trees cropping up not too far, flourishing and green. The waters in the lake were fed from a spring farther up that Rami had visited a few times. The runoff was limited by a little human interference, in order to keep the whole thing filled even in dry spells.

Lucy filched around in her bag for a water bottle before dropping it heavily to the ground.

Joe looked doubtfully into the water, a frown tugging at his mouth until he looked similar to a frog. "You know, I heard there were leeches," he gestured with his hand, the water catching the movement and reflecting it back on him. He shrugged off his bag and settled it next to Lucy’s. "Remember Syl Dobson? They were camping not far off, and they said there was like, a fuckton all in here. They got bit by a ton and it gave ‘em this weird rash—”

Lucy hummed doubtfully as she remove d her socks and shoes. "I'm fairly sure that's a myth. Ben and I have been swimming here loads of times. Haven't gotten bit yet.” She pulled off her (borrowed from Rami and never given _back_ ) tee shirt, leaving her in a bikini top and shorts.

"Yeah, maybe not by leeches." Rami swat at a stray mosquito that took his bare forearm to mean _diner open, all you can eat!_

Ben called his attention and tossed a can of bug spray at him. Rami accepted it gratefully and began to spray himself down. "Look mate," Ben patted Joe's shoulder solemnly. "If you wanna stay on the bank, you're welcome to. But it's damn hot, and leeches or no, I'm swimming."

"You're going to want sunscreen!" Gwil shouted at him. The sentiment proved useless, because Ben didn't pause in his race into the water until he was well up to his shoulders. He turned helplessly back to the group. "He's going to be the death of me. I know it."

"It's a lesson he'll have to learn when he's brunt to a crisp," Lucy told him, a bottle of said sunscreen already in her hands. "Rami?" She offered the bottle his way, but he shook his head. Gwilym took the bottle after she had finished putting hers on, and set about absolutely _plastering_ himself in sunblock. Rami was fairly certain that it wasn't even going to soak up into his skin.

"How's the leeches?" Gwil yelled to his boyfriend after a moment, "Bit yet?"

"They're the only thing keeping me company," Ben shot back with a teasing grin. Gwil rolled his eyes and stood up. He didn't go directly to the water, rather took to climbing up the outcropping of the larger stones  up one side. It wasn't terribly tall, but Rami figured it was a perfect diving rock, or sorts. He blew them a kiss and wasted absolutely no time before flinging himself into the water. He popped up, whipping water from his hair with a whoop and a holler.

Ben shouted at him between laughs as he scrubbed the splashed water out of his eyes.

“Ah, young love,” Rami joked, sighing dreamily as he looked to Lucy and Joe. They laughed with him, and Lucy clamored to her feet.

“I’m going to chance it,” she declared. She tossed Rami a smile and Joe a wink before she took off, wading into the water with the boys. It was barely a minute and a half until Ben heaved a screaming Lucy over his shoulder in order to throw her into the water.

When she came up, her hair was absolutely plastered to her face, looking like a much more terrifying version of _The Ring Lite_.

“You’re not getting in?” Rami asked Joe beside him.

Joe made a noncommittal noise and rested his chin atop his knee. “I’m waiting for them to get eaten alive,” he confided, a playful smirk playing at his mouth as he eyed Rami from the side. “That’s what happens here, right? Bunch of high school seniors running around in the middle of nowhere, swimming in unclean waters. Someone’s gotta die.”

Rami hummed studiously, giving a thoughtful nod. “Ben’s going first,” he said with the utmost confidence. “He’s the youngest, and probably our key to survival.”

“Mm. Yep. What a pity.” He delivered it on a breeze, but his face was bright, grinning wide.

Lucy’s plan sucked, Rami suddenly realized. He was never getting over this.

Except that he was, or he was gonna damn well take it to his grave rather than accidentally muck up Joe’s personal like with _Rami’s_ feelings.

Looking back, Rami watched as Gwil climbed back up the rocks, nearly falling back twice before he was able to get up the incline and stand at the top. Ben, who had already made it to the top, grinned at him proudly. Rami couldn't hear what they were saying, but they looked so damn fond. The affection they held for each other was unmistakable. Ben knocked his fist against Gwil's shoulder before sliding his hand around to cup Gwil’s nape.

Rami couldn't stop the little surprised noise that came from his throat as Gwil leaned in to kiss his boyfriend. It didn't last long at all; Ben ended it as quick as it began before pulling away and throwing himself off the edge of the rock. He hit the water with a splash, and Gwil was jumping in right after him.

Suddenly, Rami was hyper aware of Joe next to him.

Joe, who had certainly seen the display. Joe, whose eyes were still blown wide with surprise. "Wasn't expecting that," he finally admitted, looking at Rami, who didn't really have any explanation for him. He shrugged a shoulder, not wanting to give out any details the boys wouldn't want him to share.

"Guess you get used to it," he offered, words slow. Joe hummed, looking like he was going to say something else, but his attention was stolen by Ben, who was in the middle of splashing Lucy with a curtain of water. She squealed and splashed back. She wasn't very effective, as she was standing in deeper water than he was and therefore had to keep afloat, but she tried her hardest, by God.

"Come on," he prodded Joe, standing up as he went. Joe was quick to take his hand, letting Rami hoist him to his feet and pull him to the water.

And, while the water was warm, Rami absolutely did _not_ appreciate how Joe shoved him under as soon as they were up to their hips.

* * *

Lucy abandoned them first, claiming that she was going to burn. She situated herself on her towel, leaned up against her and Rami’s backpacks. She looked quite content to go between watching the boys and reading the novel she’d brought with her. Rami was fairly certain that he’d seen her take a few pictures with her phone, but really, who was to say.

Even though he stuck it out longer, Joe was next. He’d fallen back into the water just a _little_ too hard and was left reeling. He squinted against the bright light reflecting off the water and held his head as he waded his way back to Lucy. He ended up leaning against her shoulder, talking, or maybe Lucy was reading aloud to him...

Rami sort of lost track, then.

Gwil seemed think that it was a good idea to take that moment to delve under water and yank Rami's ankles out from under him. He fell with a half-formed scream, and then it was all on. And, while he was absolutely delighted when Ben took his side, “sides” were short lived, and soon it was an all-out take-no-hostages war. There was no clear winner, however Ben called it absolutely quits when a hand connected with his shoulder just a little too roughly. He yelped and submerged himself again. When he popped back up, his face was all twisted.

Gwil cursed beside him. “You’re red as a lobster,” he informed him dutifully.

Gwil seemed to do a good job of saying “I told you so,” about the sunburn, but Rami imagined that it hung in the air around them. If no one said it soon, he was going to.

"I think the leeches are actually just a myth," Gwil commented when they were back on dry land by Joe and Lucy, basking in the sun and the warm breeze. Rami wondered if Gwil could even feel the heat through the thick layer of re-applied sunscreen.

"I could have told you that," Rami commented dryly, not even bothering to pick his head back up to make eye contact. "Leeches probably don't even give rashes."

"I've never had the occasion to see," Gwil quipped.

"Just sounds fishy to me," Joe put in.

There was a tupperware of fruit stuck in the middle of them all, surrounded by various bottles of water. Ben had a bundle of grapes resting on his chest. Lucy spent her time steadily working through the pineapple. Her novel was thrown beside their bags, closed and forgotten.

"We should do this again," Joe spoke up. Rami cracked his eyes open to see him lean up on his elbows, though his head was tipped to the side, his hair just brushing Lucy’s arm. His eyes fluttered closed as a spot of sun found him through the branches above. Rami thought he looked something like a cat, all warm and content, flushed from the sun. "This is great, I like hanging out with you guys."

"Me too," Lucy agreed. She reached across Rami for a small stack of napkins stuck between him and Ben. She wiped up her wrist from where her bit of pineapple was dripping. "We should do more together."

Joe hummed and nodded.

"I'm never leaving this spot," Ben declared after a moment of silence. He shifted a little closer to Gwilym, but jerked away when he felt how tacky Gwil’s skin was again with the pasty sunscreen. His nose wrinkled and he scooted away. He settled back into his towel and sighed, cupping his hands behind his head in an attempt at making the ground more comfortable. After a moment, he squirmed in discomfort. “I’m still really hot.”

Gwil looked like he was going to retort, but Joe beat him to it — though, he probably chose a different route than good ol’ Mr. Lee. “It’s the sunburn.”

Ben looked over at him from behind his sunglasses, his brow in a furrow. "I've already met my quota of sunburns this year, thank you."

Joe pulled a face at him like he couldn't even comprehend a reply to that. Rami just leaned over to gently pat his shoulder. He settled back and looked between Lucy and Gwil. “We need to pick up black tea bags on our way home. Probably that aloe jelly, too.”

“Oh, I'm sure I'll be hearing about it, but please remind me.” Gwil snagged two apple slices, and that was that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> joe with one of those sunscreen strips down his nose is the only thing i wanna think about for the next week thanks kay bye
> 
> oh my God okay this has been a Minute. This fic has awakened a huge need to rewrite any chapters I make for it, and I am a lil mad about it.
> 
> I hope you liked it. Drop me a comment ♥
> 
> Here's my [tumblr](https://mazlektov.tumblr.com/).

**Author's Note:**

> fellas!! you can follow me on tumblr [@mazlektov](https://mazlektov.tumblr.com/)


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